Online presence is essential for every business. This includes brick-and-mortar shops that don’t do e-commerce. With the numerous website creation tools, it is easy to Build a website. These design principles will help you make the most of whatever software you use.
1. Make your site mobile responsive.
Websites must be mobile-responsive in order to be successful. American adults spend over five hours a day on their smartphones, and more than one-third of all their online shopping is done via their phones. Your business’s mobile website should provide a positive user experience.
Potential customers may abandon your website if they find it difficult to navigate or read on their mobile devices. A poor mobile user experience can also affect your website’s search engine rankings. This makes it more difficult for users to find you through Google searches.
2. Make it easy to find.
A domain name must match your company name and describe your business. Multiple domains can point to the same website. You should use technical SEO best practices, keyword searches, and paid advertising campaigns to drive traffic to your site.
Also read: 30 Best Website Building Tools You Should Know
3. Your contact information should be placed above the fold.
If you depend on your customers being able to reach you or your sales team easily, make sure they have that information.
David Brown, CEO at Web.com, stated that contact information should be prominently displayed, preferably at top of the homepage. This will make it easy for visitors to find the right number or address to contact the business.
Use social media to connect with customers. Make sure your social links are visible in the header and footer of your website.
4. Make it easy to navigate.
Dan Veltri is co-founder and chief products officer at Weebly. He recommends keeping your top-level navigation menu down to five tabs with relevant pages under them. No matter where your visitors land, you should provide a clear path to return to the homepage. Google searches can often take your readers to pages on your website that are not the homepage.
5. Keep your pages uncluttered.
Paul Bolls is an associate professor of strategic communications at the Missouri School of Journalism. He stated that readers must be able to put information into context. Too much information can overwhelm the mind and make it difficult to retain new information. You should use text and graphics in a balanced way to present a clean page.
You can keep things simple by removing social widgets such as a Twitter feed from your website. Michael LaVista (CEO of Caxy Interactive) advised that you should ask yourself if the information you add is relevant to your readers. You can remove widget content that does not serve the purpose of your page.
6. It should be accurate.
Inaccurate information can turn off customers, regardless of whether it is a wrong number or outdated product information. Each page should be proofread before it is published. Also, you should check each page periodically, especially after any updates elsewhere.
7. Respect your need for speed.
Akamai is a digital marketing company, that found that nearly 88.5% will abandon a website if the site loads too slowly. Nearly 70% of online shoppers are affected by the speed at which a website loads.
You can ensure your website runs smoothly by updating the software, optimizing videos for faster downloads, and choosing a web host that can handle your bandwidth requirements.
8. Make a call for action.
Every page of your website should encourage the visitor to take action. You need to make them take action. The landing pages should be encouraging users to sign up for your company’s services, download whitepapers, or take other actions that will benefit your business goals. You can give them an obvious invitation to do the action, such as a button, link, or clear language. It is best to keep it at the top of the page if you can so readers don’t have to scroll to find the call to action.
9. Keep your design simple.
Avoid using fonts, colors, or GIFs. These can distract from the main content of the webpage and cause eyes to wander away. Bullet points and short paragraphs make it easier to read and more easily digestible. Ian Lurie, CEO of internet marketing company Portent Inc. suggests that paragraphs should not exceed six lines.
This is particularly important when it comes to mobile responsiveness, which plays a significant role in Google’s algorithm for ranking websites. Higher rankings mean that websites will appear higher on search engine results pages (SERP). Your website could be ranked lower if a competitor’s site is mobile-friendly, and you might lose customers’ searches.
Also read: How to Build a Website Redesign Strategy
10. Make it personal.
Like brick-and-mortar stores that invest heavily in storefronts to reflect their brand image, E-commerce sellers need to provide high-quality online experiences that are consistent with their brand’s perception.
You’re About Us page should not contain too much information about your company. Visible Logic president Emily Brackett recommends that you include a photo of yourself and your team to personalize your customer experience.
11. Your website copy should be customer-oriented.
Your website is where potential customers go to find information that they can use. They may be looking for educational content or they might be interested in the products and services you offer. You should provide relevant information that will interest your prospects, give them value, and build their trust in you.
Try to see your website from the perspective of the customer when planning content. What information would you need if you were a potential customer? What knowledge and expertise do you already have? Would you like to be taught more about it? Focusing on the customer’s experience with your content will help you keep them coming back to your site for longer periods of time and build a relationship that leads to a sale.
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12. Incorporate SEO best practices.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of optimizing your website and its content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). To incorporate SEO best practices, start by conducting keyword research to identify the words and phrases your audience is searching for. Then, optimize your website’s meta tags, title tags, and header tags with those keywords.
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and has fast loading times, as these are factors that search engines consider when ranking websites. Lastly, create high-quality, relevant content that incorporates your keywords and provides value to your audience. Regularly updating your website with fresh content will also help improve your rankings over time.
Conclusion
building an effective business website requires careful planning and execution. A successful website should be visually appealing, user-friendly, and optimized for search engines. It should also provide valuable content and clear calls to action. By incorporating these elements and regularly updating your website, you can establish a strong online presence and attract more customers to your business.
